DOWN WITH BORING
ISSUE 47 · SEPTEMBER 2020 · READDORK.COM
** P L U S **
Arlo Park Cavetow s! Chloe Mo n! rion iDKHOW do! mxmtoon! Tate Mc ! The DriveRae! rE Wallows! ra!
get
fresh
NO FESTIVALS. NO SHOWS. 2020 MIGHT SEEM LIKE A WIPE OUT, BUT IT COULDN’T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. STARRING DOMINIC FIKE, AND THE ACTS TO BRIGHTEN UP THE REMAINDER OF THE WEIRDEST YEAR.
September 2020. THIS MONTH...
26. Arlo Parks
Rising fast and showing no signs of stopping - the future looks bright for Arlo Parks.
30. Cavetown
Games of six degrees of separation are easy when bedroom pop's best connected talent is part of the equation.
34. Chloe Moriondo
Young, engaged and with a string of successes behind her already, Chloe Moriondo has the world at her feet.
38. Dominic Fike With his much-anticipated debut album now out in the world for all to hear, Dominic Fike has arrived.
46. I Don't Know How But They Found Me
50. mxmtoon
Being stuck in our homes might be suffocating for most of us, but when you're a bedroom pop sensation like mxmtoon, you may as well get creative.
54. Tate McRae
Talent shows, touring the world and going viral with a song she knocked together in less time than it takes to make a decent lunch, Tate McRae is heading for the top.
58. The Driver Era
The Driver Era have been bubbling away with their eclectic rock leanings for a little while now, and it's about to hit fever-pitch.
62. Wallows
With debut album 'Nothing Happens' behind them, Braeden, Cole and Dylan haven't be sitting about twiddling their thumbs...
Grainy VHS footage? Check. Mysterious figures loitering in the background? Check. Sparkling pop jams with depth and meaning? Check, check and check. It's iDKHOW's time to shine.
readdork.com 3.
Index.
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September 2020 | readdork.com | Down With Boring
Ø6 Intro 26 Features
readdork.com
Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young
Scribblers Abigail Firth, Aleksandra Brzezicka, Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Dominic Allum, Jack Press, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Jasleen Dhindsa, Jessica Goodman, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin, Tyler Damara Kelly Snappers Adriana Sein, Alex Kurunis, Anthony Pham, Ayman Chaudhry, Connor Laws, Fiona Garden, Harry Ware, Korrie Powell, Lauren Perry, Matt Barnes, Michael Hill, Patrick Gunning, Pooneh Ghana, Sarah Louise Bennett PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM UNIT 10, 23 GRANGE ROAD, HASTINGS, TN34 2RL All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.
Ø6
2Ø Hype 66 Incoming
Editor’s letter
S
o, Dearest Reader. Allow me to become a little self-referential re: music magazines for a second. Last month saw the final issue of the much-loved Q (RIP, sniff sniff), and with it came the think pieces. Oh, the think pieces. You know the ones - penned by middle-aged men who once got a regular pay cheque from the traditional WH Smiths stocked big boys, proclaiming that this is The Death Of Print Music Magazines. For them, maybe it is maybe they stopped looking for anything new a decade or more ago. But generally, no. And politely, do stop it. Quite obviously, we believe in print mags - but especially in the world of music. Yes, that world is changing, and yes, that means a different role than 20 years or more ago, but they can do something special. It isn't online vs print - that's a battle line drawn by people who ask how before why. Minds less bothered with nuance, who think
the format is everything and content is just a formula that could be applied to either. It's as nonsensical as comparing apples to ostriches. The print magazine can be exciting in ways that online can't, and visa versa. This month, we're out to show you just one of them. See, as well as our commitment to an industrial level of nonsense, the music magazine finds its energy as much in the sparks between pages as it does in the individual articles printed on them. While digital can be quick, immediate and responsive to what is happening right now, the combination of ideas, personalities, faces and expressions print creates as we flick through only heightens the excitement in a way that a 'click the link, close the window' online economy struggles to replicate. This month, we've got nine covers. Nine. Each one awarded to an act we find impossibly exciting
right now. Musicians who are engaging with audiences, saying something great or simply lightening our moods with solid gold bops. We've got *deep breath* Arlo Parks, Cavetown, Chloe Moriondo, Dominic Fike, I Don't Know How But They Found Me, mxmtoon, Tate McRae, The Driver Era and Wallows - a group united by a vibe of something bright and new. Any of them could hold a Dork cover on their own, but combined they're a refresh button on a year that - without any form of live music or festivals to enjoy - has been deeply, deeply weird. Like the arguments about the living death of print media, music isn't just about where and how we consume it, but about the energy it creates. Just try and deny this lot their moment in the spotlight. We dare you.
S tephen
Everything Everything
With their new album 'Re-Animator', they're taking on human consciousness.
1Ø
Aluna
12
The Lemon Twigs
As one half of dance-pop sensations AlunaGeorge, Aluna has ruled the charts. Now it's time for her to break out on her own.
With their new album, The Lemon Twigs are looking closer to home.
14
Victoria Monet
Breaking out from her work behind-the-scenes of many a pop success, the spotlight is now firmly on Victoria Monet.
16
The Magic Gang One of this summer's many delayed records, The Magic Gang's new 'un is worth the wait.
2Ø
Baby Queen
Baby Queen is challenging the preconceptions of pop.
25
‘EDITOR’ @STEPHENACKROYD
Curtis Waters
You might not know his name just yet, but you'll definitely know Curtis Waters' internet smashhit 'Stunnin'' - and it's just the beginning.
ON THE DORK STEREO THIS MONTH... BTS
Dynamite
Given you know Dork feeds of raw, unfiltered buzz and excitement, is it any real wonder we've been listening to k-pop sensations BTS' first fully English language single? It's a proper pop mega bop.
4. DORK
Confidence Man Chloe Moriondo London First Class Bitch I Want To Be With You Grammar Confidence Man's debut album was a sassy spectacular. Now they're back with a brand new track, 'First Class Bitch', which drips with neon 90s cool. Ridiculously massive fun.
She's already on the cover of one of this month's editions, but Chloe's latest track is just further evidence she's going places fast. Expect to see a lot more from her very, very soon indeed.
Baby It's You
Back with new material, London Grammar remain a classy outfit. With those iconic, brilliant vocals in full effect, there's something special going on here.
The Cribs
Running Into You
The first track from Wakefield's finest's latest full-length, 'Running Into You' is textbook lean, mean, happily unclean Cribs. A scuzzy, fuzzy wall of guitar with hidden pop sensibilities. Glorious.
ALUNA – RENAISSANCE “PURE ECSTASY” NME
“SHEER PERFECTION” WONDERLAND
THE DEBUT SOLO ALBUM FROM ALUNA FRANCIS OUT 28TH AUGUST @ALUNAGEORGE / @ALUNAAA
It's been a weird old year, right? No gigs, no festivals, not much of anything, really. But as summer starts to wind towards its end, that doesn't mean there's nothing to get excited about. 2020 is still packed with amazing music. So, in order to hit the refresh button, we've called up a few of our favourite, freshest acts to help supercharge the months to come. It's time to...
26. DORK
S
itting down for a chat via Zoom, the COVID-19friendly method of communication, 19-year-old South Londoner Arlo Parks is on the cusp of leaving the romanticised messiness of her teenage years behind, and moving into her 20s with a renewed self-awareness and the intent of investing in her own joy. Growing up in a family with rich and varied musical tastes, Arlo became immersed in the multifaceted world of music from a young age and recalls there being a lot of jazz played in the house, such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane. You can almost see the trajectory from which her preferred method of expression developed, with jazz being synonymous with experimentation; having originated in New Orleans in the late 19th-century and finding itself amorphously transcribed a new form as it spread around the world. "My earliest memory of music is listening to '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' by Otis Redding, just in the car. I don't know why that's the first song I remember consciously absorbing, but when I got older, it was more of a personal thing," she recalls. "Because my family loved music, it was on a different level where I went on YouTube and would spend hours trying to find new stuff to listen to – I think that's where my music taste really evolved." Otis Redding's conversational melancholia being one of the first memories that Arlo has of music holds a poetic kind of symmetry. It is no mere coincidence that her own songs are littered with observational imagery and a solemn stillness that permeates listeners lives in a distinctly relatable way. There's an honesty that resides in the words, and it's something that Arlo is well aware of. 'Romantic Garbage' showcases the art of simplicity that resides within navigating the complicated feelings of crushing on someone. "If I fell in love with you, would you bring me the moon, or some broken beer bottles and fresh war
Arlo Parks
ARLO PARKS
S O H OT RIGHT NOW!
"Younger people at the moment are willing to just unapologetically be themselves, stand up, and talk about things without fear" Arlo Parks
Rising fast and showing no signs of stopping - the future looks bright for Arlo Parks. By: Tyler Damara Kelly. Photography: Alex Kurunis / MC Overalls, Patrick Gunning.
wounds?" she asks. It's a universally relatable subject, but the romanticising of nature, and almost revelling in the bleak reality of existence, is what really draws you in. As someone who is continually journaling and making a note of their thoughts, Arlo has an endless stream of words that she can manifest into music. Rather than sitting down with a conscientious intent to produce a body of work, she likes to let the creativity flow naturally. "It's something that I try not to overthink because the best songs that I've written have been when I'm just not getting in the way of myself and I'm just letting myself be expressive," she says earnestly. "All of the songs that I've put out, and my favourite songs of my own, have just been done in a very short period of time. It hasn't been hours spent trying to figure out the melody. It's all just kind of come out," she offers. This ties into her belief that words come out precisely the way they were supposed to be. As readdork.com 27.
I
t turns out that being holed up at his dad's in Cambridgeshire for lockdown has been a welcome relief for singer-songwriter, record producer, YouTuber, and all-round-lovely person Robin Skinner since things started heating up for his musical endeavour, Cavetown.
"I've been trying to reconnect with myself," he says while sat smack-bang in the middle of a quiet wheat field. "I was working so hard last year. It was probably one of the best years of my life, but it was also one of the most stressful, honestly." Lockdown chat is par for the course these days. It's prudent when it comes to a busy bee like Robin, who had, before the world suddenly hit the brakes, started to feel like he was forgetting about himself, "and things that I need outside of music," after "getting a bit swallowed up in touring and my work and stuff. Which is fun in its own way!" Since beginning his YouTube channel way back in 2012 - starting out with covers, before working in some of those magical Cavetown numbers and a bit of homelife action - it's all been on the up and up. Earlier this year, he released his major-label debut, 'Sleepyhead', after self-producing and selfreleasing for years via Bandcamp while on a nearconsistent revolving tour of the US and UK. Not to mention garnering support from The 1975, including a spot at their Finsbury Park extravaganza. "Being at home, especially now that I'm back at my dad's house, it reminds me
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where I started, even though I didn't start playing music at this house specifically," he says. "But also just the fact that everyone kind of has to be on the internet now. It's hard for some people who didn't already have a presence, they have to build it now to stay relevant." These times have never been more relevant for Robin and Cavetown. His is an emotional connection that demands a recollection of your own experiences. Couple that with his formative years being spent crafting his channel and figuring out who he is, means he's savvy to the ways of this new online world. "I'm lucky I'm already used to that. I grew up on the internet, and I started my career on the internet. I already have what feels like a friend group in my followers, so this moment of stillness and being at home has encouraged me to pay attention to that a bit more. It's easy to get distracted what with being tired from tour and being so busy, but it has forced me to appreciate it all." The reason Robin has resonated with so many is simply down to the reality of him being utterly relatable. We've all loved and lost, felt the angst of growing up, over-thought too much; but when the ability to process these notions comes from such genteel tunings that nurture the soul, everything gets a little bit easier. Beneath the video for his recent single with Tessa Violet, 'Smoke Signals', sits a comment professing: "Everything he puts out is so peaceful. He's the ultimate 2am-sitting-in-bedoverthinking songwriter." Being someone who doesn't think about all the eyes upon
"I don't know why I want to share, I just do" Cavetown him, having these vines, as he put it, of friendship and understanding wrap themselves gently around his career is a lovely thing. "It is very special. I don't think about it a whole lot. I try not to read comments, not that they're bad comments or anything, I just think as soon as you get in your head that it matters what people say about it, you can spiral easily. "But when I do, I see tonnes of really sweet people. Everyone that follows me is so nice, with people telling me stuff like that. It's a nice side-effect of it. Like, obviously I post stuff for myself, and to help myself feel better at 2am, and I just want to share it. I don't know why I want to share, I just do. And then the fact that that's a reaction that happens is very cool. Yes, very cool," he laughs at his own summarisation. The musical side of Cavetown is one thing - an impressive one-man show of production and talent - but it's his words that guide
WE HEA RT ROBIN!
CAVETOWN
Games of six degrees of separation are easy when bedroom pop's best connected talent is part of the equation. By: Steven Loftin. Photography: Sarah Louise Bennett.
readdork.com 31.
e o l h C d n o i Mor R IS IN G FA S T !
Young, engaged and with a string of successes behind her already, Chloe Moriondo has the world at her feet. By: Ali Shutler. Photography: Connor Laws.
34. DORK
C
limate emergencies, a human rights movement, car crash politics and a global pandemic for good measure, the world is in violent flux right now. Meanwhile, a generation are fighting to take control of their own future. It's not the present seventeen-year-old Chloe Moriondo probably dreamt of, but it's one she'll make the best of. "Now is the time for everyone to experiment. Now is the time to grow as a person, as an artist and as whatever the hell you want to be," she starts from her home in Michigan. A musician who found her voice on YouTube and has never been afraid of using it since, she's "always been writing little tunes" and has always been in love with music. When she was a little kid, Chloe was asked what she wanted to do when she was older. "I really loved my mom, and I really loved music. Those were the two things I really liked in my life, so I would say I want to be a singer and a mommy. I don't think I ever pictured doing anything else. Nothing else interested me that much." Armed with an iPod Nano, she listened to everything her parents were into and everything
that was on the radio. At age 12, she started opening the Notes App, writing stuff down and storing it in a special folder. It's still where a majority of her ideas live. "I'm not the most organised person," she admits. "I'm a bit scatterbrained." She, like a lot of kids, would record covers but eventually discovered singersongwriter Dodie's channel and watched as she shared how she wrote original songs. With no barriers and no mystery, Chloe realised she could do it as well. "She did stuff with just her ukulele and her voice. It was really beautiful. I got really inspired by that so started writing my own songs on piano and ukulele, turning my little humming-on-a-bike-ride into something more solid." It's those songs that make up her 2018 'Rabbit Hearted' album. A lush selfreleased, self-produced DIY bedroom pop record, its dreamy escape and conversational lyrics struck a chord with teenagers across the world. The gorgeous Cavetown-produced 'Spirit Orb' EP followed in 2020 and provided a comforting getaway-soundtrack while throwing an even bigger spotlight Chloe's way. "It sounds kinda depressing saying I've always been an escapist person, but
"There's something really fascinating and awesome about writing songs that can take you somewhere else" Chloe Moriondo
it definitely doesn't have to always be in a 'I hate my life, get me out of here' kinda thing." Chloe loved getting lost in fantasy books when she was younger, drawn to the endless potential they offered, and that's never gone away. "There's something really fascinating and awesome to me about writing songs that can take you somewhere else, where you can be whatever the hell you want." Sometimes that's for adventure, "Sometimes there are problems you do
want to get away from though and that exists for everyone. It definitely existed for me." High school and middle school weren't easy for Chloe. "I was going through some shit," she starts. "They don't tell you that it's the worst time ever when you're at school because they don't want to make you feel bad, but it definitely is. I wrote basically all my songs in that time period. A lot of that is me dreaming about where else I could be, where I'm going to be in the future and what I would want to be." Written while "stewing in the crap that I was dealing with in my own room, it's very Teenage Angst stuff, and I'm so glad there are people who like it, and can relate to it still. There's a lot of it I still relate to, just in different ways now." Now she's graduated the suffocatingly intense boiling pot of High School, Chloe's realised, "there's a whole world out there." As someone who has spent the past few years dreaming of what's waiting for her, she can't wait to dive in. "I'm excited to keep writing more songs in the same vein as what's come before, but also do some more crazy shit. I can do whatever I want. "I always imagined myself doing more than just singing with a ukulele. There are people who do just sit alone
CHLOE MORIONDO
do
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With his now out much-anticipate i d D o m i n i c n t h e w o r l d fo r d e b u t a l b u m all to he F i ke h a s By: Jam ar, a r r i ve d . ie Muir. Photo gr ap
n i m o D e k Fi h y : Ad r i
ana Sein
.
C OV E R
S TO RY
W
ho are you? What do you want to be? What do you want to do? They're big questions, and there have never been more possible answers. In an age where at a click of a button and 20 mins of free time, you could be on whatever path you like - the most exciting artists on the planet are doing just that. It's not about being defined by one occasion or one track, it's standing for more than
38. DORK
that. If there's anyone on the planet capturing that right now, it's Dominic Fike. 100s of millions of streams later, he finds himself in a position he'd never have thought possible: on top of the world. But what now? "If this has taught me anything, it's do whatever the fuck you want." It's no surprise that freedom is firing through Dominic Fike. It's been exactly what he's all about since the very beginning. From word of mouth sensation to viral trailblazer and global
powerhouse in a matter of years - he's become the artist you simply have to know about right now. Not that attention is particularly playing on his mind. In fact, as he wanders through his LA home and ponders his journey so far, keeping himself removed from the millions plugging into his every move is exactly what's needed. "I've seen some of the reactions, but I'm trying to stay away from it as much as possible," he admits. "People have been nice about it, some
people definitely have too much shit to say, but I've realised that when I like a song or artist, I don't really go and look at the views on a track or the comment section. Maybe I'm a different person, but I've been very present in my life with everyone that's around me instead so I'm on my phone less. Which is good, I'm happy." The "it" in question just happens to be Dominic's debut album, 'What Could Possibly Go Wrong', a longawaited opening statement
of intent from an artist all too aware of the responsibility that comes with such a moment. "I didn't think releasing it would be so relieving as it is," he adds. A world of pressure and awareness circling around his head while he worked away at it. "It scared the shit out of me. I didn't realise how much it was weighing on me just having that album there and ready to go, and then having to think about what would happen when I released it. The fact it's already happened and
DOMINIC FIKE
c i n readdork.com 39.
W
ho doesn't love a game? Well,
one is certainly afoot with mystical, timetravelling, pop-culture-referencing beings I Don't Know How But They Found Me. It's been a few years since the mysterious duo appeared on stage at Emo Nite in LA, with a buzz around them gaining pace quicker than you can say "Isn't that the guy from that band?!" Initially denying everything, even when presented with actual photographic evidence, the purported mastermind Dallon Weekes admitted that yes, there was a band, completed by electric-blue haired drummer and backing vocalist Ryan Seaman, and iDKHOW is their name. Cue a string of fantastically retro videos, right down to the grainy VHS footage of a long-forgotten talent show, infomercials with more layered context than a lasagna, plus a minefield of clues as to just what they're about, and finally the long-awaited album is here. Well, almost. With even more being teased to the story, and everything unravelling like a well-designed murder mystery (just without, y'know, a murder), it sounds like Dallon is ready for the follow-up to debut EP '1981 Extended Play'. "When we first started, we had our own timeline and our own plans for releasing music. The first year or so that we existed we operated in total secrecy, and denied that we even existed at all," Dallon remembers. "It took a minute for us to get the ball rolling and build from the ground up, which is what we wanted to do. We didn't want to use any of our other past employment to build a name for ourselves." One thing's for certain, iDKHOW have built a name for themselves. One away from Dallon's previous home in Panic! At The Disco, and it's all rooted in one idea: "Making music and making art. It's supposed to be fun," he enthuses. "When people start to make it not fun - or if you start to make it not fun, you have to change something, otherwise, what's the point? Sat in his home studio dissecting the road already travelled, Dallon has been vying for this moment. With the announcement of their debut 'Razzmatazz', the whirring cogs of their burgeoning fanbase's minds have been sent into overdrive. "We wanted to leave enough room for people's imaginations to wander around in this idea," he pauses. "I remember watching this horror movie documentary talking to all these famous legendary horror movie directors, and one of them said: 'The thing that's behind the door is always scarier in your imagination'. It's always scarier until you see it and then you go, 'Oh that's not as scary as what I imagined'. Leaving room in the fictional narrative has created a lot of interesting theories that I've seen people talk about in
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iDKHOW
Grainy VHS footage? Check. Mysterious figures loitering in the background? Check. Sparkling pop jams with depth and meaning? Check, check and check. It's iDKHOW's time to shine. By: Steven Loftin. Photography: Lauren Perry.
IN C O M IN G !
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mxmt
50. DORK
toon
MXMTOON
F
or most musicians, life has been a bit different lately. This isn’t the case for mxmtoon, though. The 20-year-old Californian, also known as Maia, is pretty used to being tucked away in her room, making music and virtually collaborating, making, as they call it, ‘bedroom pop’.
Being stuck in our homes might be suffocating for most of us, but when you're a bedroom pop sensation like mxmtoon, you may as well get creative. By: Abigail Firth. Photography: Sarah Louise Bennett.
OFFIC
I A L LY
AC E !
“I don’t mind it at all. I could just sit inside and play video games or watch TV every single day if I had the choice to,” Maia says from her apartment in Brooklyn, a place she’s only just gotten back to after a few months quarantining in her hometown of Oakland with her family. “Right now I don’t have a choice, I kind of have to do that anyways. But I am like a really big introvert, so I was optimistic going into this whole thing, like it’ll be totally fine, I’ll just do what I normally do.” In between playing Animal Crossing and making TikToks (relatable queen), she released EP ‘dawn’ in the spring, which thanks to her tendency to look inwards and love for spending time home alone came out just at the right time. “Thematically it ended up being pretty appropriate and just having songs that felt like they looked a little bit more externally and hopefully gave people an optimistic edge to what is rather pessimistic and really negative and scary about our world right now. I think people felt happy that there was something that kind of reflected what they were feeling in the moment even though the songs when I wrote them were not what I thought they were going to be for later on.” So while plenty of musicians have spent the last few months mourning the loss of touring and partying, that hasn’t necessarily been the case for Maia (who says she left her prom after an hour and ended up writing a song about it). However, she has been readjusting to her old ways of emailing collaborators about songs; obviously, a very annoying thing to happen after waiting so long to get into the studio with other people IRL. “All I knew for a very long time was how to like email people back and forth on a song and collaborate that way.” Yep, Maia was doing those overseas collabs long before ‘all of this’. In fact, fellow Dork cover star Cavetown produced her hit ‘prom dress’ from his own room. “When I finally got introduced to the in-person collaboration where you’re sitting with someone, you can have a conversation with them instead of waiting for an email, after the time zone reaches the proper time for them to be awake, I realised how much I love that experience. I kind of grew less familiar with it after a certain time period, so now I’m back in it, and it’s definitely a whole different way to use your brain and different style of collaboration.” mxmtoon’s debut album ‘the masquerade’ was released in late-2019, and stuck to the stripped-back sound readdork.com 51.
Tate McRae FU TU R E M EG A
STA R !
Talent shows, touring the world and going viral with a song she knocked together in less time than it takes to make a decent lunch, Tate McRae is heading for the top. By: Aleksandra Brzezicka.
I
magine that you started dancing as a kid, and were so ace that years later, you've made a name for yourself and travelled the world. Instead of playing in school talent shows, you've performed on the stage of one the biggest TV reality shows in the US. After accomplishing it all, you put online a song that you've whipped up in 20 minutes and, overnight, it goes viral. Meet 17-year-old Tate McRae, a Canadian dancer turned pop sensation who twirled her way to international stardom, working twice as hard as her older co-workers, and with even more to say. Tate has been in the making for a while, and now she's ready to rocket through the charts. "I can say it a million times, I was speechless when my manager texted. Craziest thing ever. I wouldn't expect that in a million years," says an over the moon Tate when we catch up in between recording sessions for some top-secret new tunes. She's
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just received a VMA Push Best Artist Nomination, and it's no wonder she's excited; not everyone has what it takes to land space on the nominee list next to Doja Cat and Yungblud, with a determination to take it all the way. Tate McRae first kicked off in 2016 when she became first Canadian finalist on American talent show, So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. "My mum was a dancer her whole life and then she was my dance teacher, so I got into dance when I was about six, and then starting competing more intensively when I was eight," she says. Winning the Best Female Dancer award twice and storming world stages on tour with Justin Bieber, she shook US audiences and stole their hearts with her authentic charm. Already thriving in the music industry, she had the need to channel some of that overflowing talent to a different kind of dish. "I've always been a fan of poetry and writing
in school. Like, always. I started a YouTube channel about three and a bit years ago, and I released one song one day. It was just 'I wrote a song', and it was this random thing I whipped off in like 20 minutes. It started to gain some attraction and people were sticking around for some music and for me to write original songs. I've just kept realising them every single week on Fridays, and then I've started to build more of a fanbase and singing," Tate reflects. Asked for those responsible for shaping her taste and artists that she looks up to, Tate namedrops some of the biggest pop stars. "I've got so many musical influences. I'm a huge fan of Post Malone, The Weekend, Dua Lipa, Jessie Reyez and Jeremy Zucker. There are so many that I listen to every single day, and one of them is always a
"I've performed on some big stages with massive audiences" Tate McRae
TATE MCRAE
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The
D O U B LE TR O U B LE
Driver Era The Driver Era have been bubbling away with their eclectic rock leanings for a little while now, and it's about to hit fever-pitch.
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By: Jessica Goodman. Photography: M.K. Sadler.
THE DRIVER ERA
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OUT OF THIS WORLD!
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Wa
allows
WALLOWS
By: Jamie MacMillan. Photography: Anthony Pham.
With debut album 'Nothing Happens' behind them, Braeden, Cole and Dylan haven't be sitting about twiddling their thumbs...
"420?
FOUR-TWENTY!?" Safe to say that Wallows approve of where they sit in Spotify's 'Most Listened To' placings. "I hope we never move up at this point. Or down. I just wanna stay right here," grins Dylan Minnette, frontman of one of the most exciting bands on the whole goddamn planet right now.
Out of the smoke from the apocalyptic car-crash that is 2020, we are seeing a whole new cast of heroes emerge. Amongst them, the Los Angeles trio who have already shaken our world once with their fizzy-pop-shaken-to-perfection debut and look to be ones to rock it further in 2021 and beyond. Ridiculously excited about a new band, us? You know it. Having managed the neat trick of seeming to burst out of nowhere while still feeling like you'd known them for ages (helped in part initially, let's be honest, by Dylan's ubiquity as the star of 13 Reasons Why, one of Netflix' biggies), Wallows only started releasing music in 2017. With the arrival of 'Nothing Happens' last year, and the uber-banging, Clairofeaturing, keep-it-on-your-playlistforever-ing 'Are You Bored Yet?', the doors to our hearts were well and truly kicked in. Nothing happens? Far from it. That first record has it all happening. Songs to dance to, check. Moments to chuck an over-priced tin of Red Stripe high into the air and bounce off your mates in the pit, definitely check. Moments of real emotion and vulnerability rubbing shoulders with anthems about turning the page from teenage life into all of the excitement and nervousness that follows, it's all here and delivered with a classic 2020 magpie approach. Every element of modern pop music poured into one delicious pot, it was all set for Wallows. Bring on the festivals, the big stages, the global realisation of what a few of us had
"There are definitely cockroaches in my real house at this point, but I have a fivestar island and all the best villagers" Cole Preston already noticed. And then everything stopped with a big fat COVID-19sized full stop. Chatting to the band via phone, it's glamour personified. For them anyway, the band dialling in from a presumably air-conditioned LA setting. Not for Dork's intrepid writer, sitting as he is in a decidedly un-air-conditioned van in an Esso garage forecourt amongst the boy racers and rabid post-lockdown McDonald's devourers. Fear not, we soon bring the band down to our level though. "What did I do during lockdown? I shredded through Animal Crossing," admits drummer Cole Preston. "Like there was no tomorrow. I mean, I played it for a month non-stop. So there are definitely cockroaches in my real house at this point, but I have a five-star island and all the best villagers. I was going on allreaddork.com 63.
RESEARCH SUBJECT
I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
VISUAL
FOR TRANSMISSION FROM (PLEASE PRINT)
REFERENCE
(DEPARTMENT SECTION)
THE DEBUT ALBUM ‘RAZZMATAZZ’
(PHONE CONTACT ORIGINATOR)
DELIVERANCE
OCTOBER 16, 2020
MESSAGE
PRIORITY
Urgent (immediate) Routine (two-day)
FEARLESSRECORDS.COM • iDKHOW.COM
A PRESENTATION OF MUSIC AND THE SPOKEN WORD